Harry Potter and the Next Generation: Year One
by CosmicalMadison
Summary: Follow Albus Potter, Rose Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy, and Laura Longbottom through their first year of adventures and misadventures at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
1. Train Ride

_Title:_ Harry Potter and the Next Generation: Year One

_Author:_ CosmicalMadison

_Summary:_ Follow Albus Potter, Rose Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy, and Laura Longbottom through their first year of adventures and misadventures at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

_Spoilers:_ DH epilogue

_Setting:_ Nineteen years after DH.

_Rating:_ K+

_Disclaimer:_ All recognizable characters belong to JKR, and not me. It's sad, I know, but true. Laura Longbottom and anyone else you don't know, however, _do_ belong to me. Yup, it's my little corner of the Potterverse.

_Author's Note:_ Okay, I'm gonna make a vow here I've actually written an outline for this story and I really, really, _really_ hope to finish it. If you've read any of my longer things before, you probably know that I'm not too good at that. Anyway, the vow: I promise that I'm going to post a new chapter at least once a week. If I don't, you have the right to complain, poke me with sharp things, or do anything else to make me get the next chapter done. Okay, now that that's over: Hope you enjoy Chapter One!

Chapter One: Train Ride

Albus Potter stood on Platform 9 ¾, starting up at the Hogwarts Express. In a matter of minutes the dark red steam engine would be carrying him off to his first year at the magical school. He was a little nervous, yet excited all the same. After all, he wouldn't be alone. His cousin, Rose Weasley, and their good friend Laura Longbottom were also starting school this year.

At that moment, a voice said in his ear, "Are you ready?"

Albus started and whirled around to see Rose standing there. He glared at her playfully. "Next time warn be before you do that sort of thing." His cousin smiled innocently as he continued, "Yeah, I'm ready. Let's go."

The two turned and said their last goodbyes to their parents and younger siblings before hoisting their luggage and boarding the train. As they walked down the hall searching for a compartment, they were met about halfway down by an older boy with messy brown hair and blue eyes.

"Hey, Teddy," said Albus with a smirk. "So you're finally done snogging Victoire?"

The other boy didn't even blush. "Yup," he said, as he reached up to straighten his hair. He smiled down at them. "So, you two are leaving for your first year, then?" Rose and Albus nodded. "Fantastic! You two will like Hogwarts. It'll take some getting used to, but you guys will do fine. People will try to tell you horror stories, but don't listen. First year isn't that hard."

Toward the front of the train, a whistle blew. "Whoa!" Teddy cried, glancing down at his watch. "I need to get going. Good luck, guys!" he threw over his shoulder, already halfway down the corridor.

"Goodbye, Teddy!" Rose called after him. "Come on," she said, turning back and grabbing her cousin's arm and pulling him down the corridor. "We need to find somewhere to sit. The train'll be leaving any minute!"

"Let go of me; I can walk myself," he replied, giggling as she let go of him. The two spend another few moments walking down the train before they came to a compartment toward the end that held only one girl.

Rose immediately slid open the door, poked her head in and said, "Hi, Laura! Do you mind if we join you?"

The girl in the compartment looked over at them, her white-blonde curls swinging with the motion. A soft smile lit on her face when she recognized them. "Hey, Rose, Albus, of course you can come in."

The two entered and stashed their trunks in the luggage rack beside Laura's before sitting down. Rose set her owl cage, holding a small bird in it between herself and the window.

At that moment, the train began to move. The three kids gathered at the window and waved to their parents and Hugo and Lily down on the platform. They laughed as the little boy chased the train to the end of the platform, then stood there waving enthusiastically after them.

When the station, full of well-wishers, had disappeared around a corner, Albus turned back to his friends. "So, which house do you guys want to be in?" he asked.

"I'm hoping for Ravenclaw, like my mum," Laura answered.

Rose said, "I want to be in Gryffindor, like my parents, though I'm not sure if I could really be considered brave enough…"

"Hmm," Laura said thoughtfully. "You seem more like a Ravenclaw to me. You're smart and witty and – "

Rose cut her off. "That's what people said about Mum, too, but she was a Gryffindor." She sighed. "Well, whatever. As long as I don't end up in Slytherin, I'll take whichever house the Sorting Hat thinks is right."

"Yeah, about that…" said Albus softly, all of his worries bubbling up to the surface again. "I've been thinking – "

"_Albus_," Rose chided him, "you need to stop worrying. If the Sorting Hat puts you in Slytherin, it'll be for good reason. You're not going to turn dark just because you're in the house. Besides, not everyone in there is as cruel as the people our parents knew while they were at school."

"You're right," Albus sighed, "but I still worry."

An uncomfortable silence filled the compartment until Laura, deliberately trying to change the subject, piped up. "So, Rose, is this your new owl?"

"Yeah," the girl said as she patted the cage. The tiny brown owl inside blinked at her with large black eyes. "She's a pygmy," Rose explained, "and her name is Minnie. Mum and Dad bought her for me in Diagon Alley a few days ago."

Laura squinted at the animal. "You know…she's not going to be all that good for carrying letters. I don't suppose that being so small she can carry much weight."

Rose sighed. "_Why_ does everyone keep saying that? It's not like I'm going to be sending ten page letters home everyday. If I have something heavier that needs delivering, I'll borrow a school owl. Minnie's my pet, and I like her just the way she is."

"Hey, I didn't mean anything by it," Laura said, raising her hands in a gesture of innocence. "I was just stating a fact."

"I know," said Rose with a smile. "I'm sorry. I just get annoyed because that's like the dozenth time I've had someone tell me that."

"It's okay," Laura told her. "I understand. Anyway, my dad promised that he would get me a pet for Christmas – anything I wanted. I told him I'd like to have a crumple-horned snorkack, but since no one's every seen one and they couldn't be kept at school anyway, he said to choose something else." The girl shrugged. "I'll probably just get a cat. It's a little boring, but it's better than not having a pet, right?"

The other two nodded, and the compartment fell silent. After a few moment, Albus asked, "So, Laura, what do you think about your dad being a professor this year?"

"I don't know," she answered. "I supposed it'll be nice if I have extra questions and stuff. I'll just be talking to my dad instead of a teacher I hardly know. But it could be embarrassing too. I just hope he doesn't do anything stupid."

"Yeah," Rose said, "but you forgot something. You won't ever have to be homesick either, because your dad will always be there."

"Hey, I haven't thought of that," said Laura with a huge smile. There was a knock on the door. "Come in," Laura said in a friendly tone, but the moment a long, thin face framed by pure blonde hair and filled with bright blue eyes entered the compartment, it turned to ice. "Never mind, Malfoy," she said coldly. "We don't want you in here."

"Wha-?" the boy asked, looking hurt.

"Get!"

Startled, the boy stepped backward and slid the door closed.

As soon as he was gone, Rose and Albus rounded on their friend. "What did you do that for?" demanded Albus.

"Don't you know who that was?" Laura shot back. When no one answered, she continued, "It was Scorpius Malfoy, son of _Draco_ Malfoy. Don't you know who that is? The one who was so cruel to our parents when they were in school, the pureblood fanatic?"

Rose narrowed her eyes dangerously. "And?"

"And?" Laura said in disbelief. "This is his son! We don't need anything to do with him."

"Laura, I can't believe you!" Rose cried. "How dare you say those things? Just because his father was like that doesn't mean Scorpius is too!"

"Really!" Albus agreed. "You didn't even give him a chance to talk. That was just mean."

"Whatever," Laura huffed, turning away. "If you want to believe that someone raised to be cruel like his parents can turn out any other way, fine. Be my guest, but you're deluding yourselves. Anyway," she said, abruptly changing the subject, "We should really put our robes on. I expect we'll be arriving soon."

Once again, awkward silence reigned as the three turned their backs to each other and slipped on their robes. When finished, they sat down again without speaking. Albus caught Rose's eye, then looked to Laura, trying to convey that they should talk to her, but his cousin shook her head. Not wanting to argue anymore, he didn't say anything.

After what seemed like a very long time, the train began to slow, then stopped. Rose, Albus, and Laura gathered their things and excited onto a dark platform on the edge of a small village. People milled about everywhere. None of them knew where to go. Albus tried to catch sight of his older brother, James, to ask where he was supposed to go, but couldn't see him anywhere.

Suddenly, a booming voice rose over all of the commotion: "Firs' years this way! Firs' years over here!"

Albus, with Rose and Laura trailing him, followed the voice to its source, a huge, hairy man who must have been nine feet tall.

"That's Rubeus Hagrid," Rose whispered. "Mum and Dad told us about him."

"Yeah." Albus nodded, remembering all the stories his parents and Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione had told him about Hagrid and his creatures.

At that moment, the huge man caught sight of them. "Well, 'ello there!" he cried, shaking the boy's hand to hard and felt like his arm was about to be ripped from its socket. "You mus' be Albus Potter, Harry's boy!"

"Yes, I am," Albus confirmed, rubbing his shoulder.

"I knew it!" Hagrid crowed as his eyes moved over to rest on his cousin. "An' yeh'd be Rose Weasley?"

"Yes, sir," Rose said softly, a bit intimidated by the half-giant who was now speaking to her.

Hagrid winked at her, then turned to Laura and frowned in concentration. "'Fraid I don't know yeh," he said, sounding a bit puzzled.

"My name's Laura," she said. "My parents are Neville and Luna Longbottom."

"Ah, so yeh are!" Hagrid cried. "Shoulda known – yeh look jus' like yer mum." Laura smiled at this. Hagrid said, "Well, stay righ' here, and once we've gathered all the firs' years we'll be makin' our trip teh the school." He looked up over the heads of the milling students and started yelling again, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"

When his attention was gone, Laura turned Rose and Albus looking sorrowful. "Okay," she said regretfully. "I'm sorry that I acted like that to Scorpius. It's just that I'm not going to believe he's any different than his father until I see it for myself, all right? But I don't want to fight with you guys. Will you forgive me?"

Albus looked into her pleading green eyes and knew he couldn't stay mad at her. "All right," he said. "I forgive you." He couldn't stand the thought of only having a few people he knew at Hogwarts and one of them not talking to him.

Laura smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Albus." She turned to Rose, her face full of trepidation.

The other girl heaved a huge sigh before answered. "Well," she said slowly. "I don't think I can forgive you for how you treated that boy before he had even said or done anything. I mean, how would you like it if someone did that to you?" Laura's face fell. "_But,_" Rose continued, "I don't want to fight either. Just agree that we'll at least give Scorpius a chance, all right?"

"Definitely," Laura said. "Thanks."

At this point, the kids looked up to see there was a crowd of at least fifty or more boys and girls their age now gathered in a rough circle with Hagrid in the center. The professor was looking around, appearing to count in his head. "All righ'," he said finally. "Tha' seems to be ev'ryone. This way!"

The group began to move, Hagrid now in the lead. Back toward the middle, Albus, Rose, and Laura were unable to see where they were going. After several minutes, Hagrid's voice floated back to them again, "Here we are!" The group stopped and spread out. Moving forward, Albus saw that they were on the bank of a large lake. There were two dozen boats or so spread a long the shore, each with a tiny lantern hanging off of them.

"Four people per boat, please," Hagrid instructed as students began to move forward.

"I remember Dad and Mum telling me about this," Laura said as the three of them climbed into one of the tiny craft.

Albus looked around the crowded shore, wondering who would join them. Several boats over, he saw Scorpius looked at them. When their eyes locked, the other boy quickly looked away and climbed into a boat with a couple of other boys. Albus felt bad for him. He was sure Scorpius couldn't be as bad as Laura thought.

After a while, another boy came over and said, "Hey, I'm Tavarias. Do you guys mind if I join you?"

"Of course not," Rose answered, patting the empty seat next to her. "Get in."

"Thanks," Tavarias said with a smile as he sat beside her.

"Um, I think we're supposed to go," Laura said, pointing. The others followed her gaze to see that about a dozen of the boats had already left the bank, with Hagrid in the lead.

"Oops," Albus said as he grabbed one oar and handed the other to Laura on the opposite side of the boat.

Seconds later, they too had left the shore, and the fleet of boats was off. It only took them about ten minutes to cross the lake, but they enjoyed. Rose kept spouting off about how poetic it was the way the crescent moon and the stars reflected on the black lake until the boys (and finally Laura too) decided to just ignore her.

When they arrived on the other side, Hagrid led the group up a steep hill to the entrance of the Hogwarts. Soft gasps came from the first years as the magnificent castle with its towers and turrets came into view. "'Ere we are," Hagrid said finally as they stopped in front of a huge set of battered wooden doors. He knocked, and a moment later the doors opened to reveal an elderly witch with white hair wearing emerald green dress robes.

"Good evening," she said, and the assembled students immediately fell silent. Her voice was soft, but carried an air of authority enough to fill the grounds. "Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," she continued. "I am Minerva McGonagall, headmistress and professor of Transfiguration here at the school. In a few moments, you will be led into the Great Hall, where your fellow students now wait, for the Sorting Ceremony. Now, I know this experience can be a little frightening, but try to remain calm. I will call you up one by one and place the Sorting Hat on your head. The Hat will call out your house, and once it has done so, I will remove it and you may sit at your house table. Are there any questions?" She looked over the students, and the students looked at each other, but no one said anything. "No? Then follow me, please."

Albus moved forward with the rest of the first years, worrying, he thought, more than most about which house he was about to be placed in. The moment of truth was drawing near.


	2. The Sorting

_Author's Note:_ Okay, so here's Chapter Two! Thanks to everyone who's reading. I hope you're enjoying it. If not, I'm sorry. Also, I'm open to suggestions if you'd like to see something, so do tell.

Chapter Two: The Sorting

Albus was filled with awe the moment they entered the Great Hall. The huge room was filled with the four long house tables which seated hundreds of other students. He spotted the green of Slytherin, Hufflepuff's yellow, Ravenclaw's blue, and the red and gold of Gryffindor. His gaze lingered on the last table, hoping he would soon be sitting there next to his brother. He spotted James toward the middle of the table next to their cousin Victoire. He gave Albus a thumbs-up, and the younger boy smiled shakily at him.

Several kids in front of him had started pointing upward. Following their gaze, Albus saw that the air was filled with hundred of floating candles, and above them – he gasped – the sky. The moon and a million stars blinked down at them.

"The ceiling's bewitched," he heard Rose saying behind him, "to look like the sky outside. My mother told me about it."

Finally, they arrived on a raised platform in front of the room facing a fifth long table filled with professor. From behind them, the headmistress said, "Please form a line facing me." When they were done jostling for position, she said, "When I call your name, please come forward and sit down." She walked over to where the Sorting Hat was sitting on a three-legged stool, picked it up, and looked to a piece of parchment in her hand. "Brown, James," she called.

Albus and the others watched as a short, pudgy boy with blonde hair crept up to the stool and sat down, looking supremely nervous. McGonagall placed the hat on his head, and the muttering from the older students stopped as they waited for its verdict. Nothing happened for a several moments, but Albus knew from his father's stories what was going on. The Sorting Hat would be talking into the boy's ear and explaining which house he would do best in.

After another minute or so, the hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"

A huge cheer went up from the table on the far left side of the hall as the headmistress removed the hat and James Brown jumped up with relief on his face and went to join them.

The next name to be called was "Clemmons, Clara." The black-haired girl who walked forward was placed in Hufflepuff, and the sorting continued. Boys and girls were sorted equally into the four houses until they came to "Longbottom, Laura."

Albus watched with interest as his friend walked up and sat down on the school. She took a deep breath and stared straight ahead as the hat was placed on her head, listening carefully to every word it said. It took the magical object only a moment to decide where she needed to go. "RAVENCLAW!" Laura grinned as she went to join the house she had wanted.

Albus's heart started to beat faster as he watched her go. It would be his turn soon.

"Malfoy, Scorpius."

Albus watched Scorpius walk forward looking only slightly less nervous than the first boy. The hat was placed on his head and only sat there for a few seconds before it cried, "SLYTHERIN!" Scorpius smiled once, swiftly, before his face returned to neutral and he went the table full of his applauding housemates.

Now Albus's heart was hammering nearly out of his chest. Any minute now he would be the one walking up to the stool, sitting down, and being sorted. How many other kids' names came between Malfoy and Potter?

He didn't have to wait long for the answer. "Milard, Isaac" also went to Slytherin, and then it was his turn.

"Potter, Albus," McGonagall's voice rang through the silent room.

The boy took a deep breath, trying to steady himself, then moved forward shakily. The stool creaked as he sat down on it. The headmistress gave him a slight smile as she set the sorting hat on his head. It was too big and immediately slipped down over his eyes. Albus sat in the blackness waiting for the hat to speak, his heart hammering in his chest.

"Ah," a soft voice spoke into his ear, "another Potter, eh?" There was a pause before it continued to speak. "Hmm…much like your father, you are. Difficult. You've a bright mind, no doubt – hard-working to be sure. Let's see…brave, too, and certainly determined. Yes, you would do well anywhere, but I'm going to say-

"SLYTHERIN!" the Sorting Hat shouted.

Albus's heart stopped. He could feel his blood freezing in his veins. Had he heard right? Had the hat really pronounced him a Slytherin? The hat was lifted off of his head. Hoping against hope, Albus gazed out into the crowd of onlookers and saw the far right table, draped in green and silver, clapping and beckoning him over.

"Mr. Potter?" the headmistress asked so only he could hear her. "Is something wrong?"

Albus swallowed with difficulty and said in quivering voice, "No, ma'am." Woodenly, he stood, walked down a few steps to the floor, and over to the table where he was greeted enthusiastically by a dozen boys and girls dressed in green. Albus nodded absently as they welcomed him and then sat down. A little ways down the table Scorpius shot him a shy smile. Albus didn't respond, but looked back up to the platform where the rest of his year stood.

Rose was staring at him, though she only looked half as shocked as he felt. He looked away as her name was called. Feeling detached, Albus listened as Rose was sorted into Ravenclaw, the house Laura had predicted she would be in, and then the Sorting Ceremony was over. The hat and stool were removed, and now the headmistress stood at the font of the platform and addressed them.

"Now, I won't keep you much longer," she said. "I'm sure you're all hungry and looking forward to the fabulous feast our house elves have made for us." A cheer went up at this, and she smiled. "However, I do have a few start of term announcements. First of all, as usual, no student is allowed in the Forbidden Forest unless accompanied by a professor. Secondly, we have two staff changes this year. Our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will be Professor Cho Chang." She gestured to the end of the staff table where a woman with long, straight, black hair stood up and bowed. The students clapped politely as she returned to her seat. "Also," McGonagall continued, "we have Professor Neville Longbottom taking over Herbology." Albus spotted Laura at the Ravenclaw table blushing as her father stood up and was also clapped for. "That is all," the headmistress finished when he had seated himself once again. "Now, let us eat!"

She clapped her hands, and instantly the plates in front of them filled with foot – delicious looking puddings, salads, pastas, tarts, and anything else a person could have dreamed of. Everyone else at Albus's table dug in at once. The boy just stared, not feeling the least bit hungry. His mind was spinning. He still couldn't believe that he had been placed in Slytherin.

He suddenly remembered what his father had told him back at King's Cross Station – that he could ask the Hat to put him in another house as he had done. Albus mentally kicked himself. Why hadn't he remembered? He had been too nervous, he supposed, to think of much other than where the hat wanted to put him.

"Hey, Albus!"

"What?" Albus jerked his head up to see Tavarias, the boy who had shared his boat earlier, sitting across the table from him and looking concerned. Apparently he had been sorted when Albus wasn't paying attention.

"I asked if you were okay," Tavarias said. "You're not eating anything."

"Oh," Albus said. "Yeah. Well, I…um, don't feel very well."

"You should eat something," Tavarias advised. "It might help."

Albus sighed, but decided to take the advice. After all, starving himself wouldn't change the house he had been put into. He took a bit of treacle tart and began to eat. Tavarias smiled encouragingly at him before returning to his own meal.

"Your attention, please," McGonagall called when everyone was finished eating, and the remaining food immediately disappeared. "You are to go to your common rooms now. Classes will start bright and early, so I suggest getting to bed straight off. First years, follow your prefects. They will show you the way."

Everyone stood up and began moving toward the door at once. Albus hung back with the other first year Slytherins trying to figure out who their prefects were and where he should go. After a few moments, an older boy and girl with shiny silver badges fixed to the front of their robes walked up and said, "First years, follow us and keep up. The common room is this was."

They followed. The prefects led them out into the entrance hall, then through a door to the right of a large staircase. Albus shivered as they started down a steep set of stone steps. It was cold down here. They finally arrived at a landing. The female prefect turned to the statue of a medieval knight and said, "pureblood." The statue stepped aside to reveal a wooden door. The girl looked over her shoulder and told the first years, "Never forget the password, or you're going to be standing out here waiting for someone to come by and let you it." She let them inside.

Albus's first impression of the Slytherin common room didn't do anything to lighten his mood. It was cold, dark, and dreary. There was a fireplace in one corner with a few overstuffed, dark green chairs gathered around it. Tables filled the rest of the room.

"Up there are the boys' dorms," the male prefect was saying as he pointed to a door on their left. "Girls to the right. I agree with Professor McGonagall and suggest that you get to bed." At that, he swept out of the room and into the boys' dormitory. Without a word, the older girl followed suit, exciting to the right.

The first years all looked at each other, not sure what to do next. Finally, Albus decided to get a look at their dormitories. As he moved out the room, Scorpius, Tavarias, and two other boys their age followed. On the other side of the door was a short hall lines with more doors, each labeled by year. It didn't take Albus long to find the one marked "First Years" on the end. He pushed open the door, and the five of them filtered in.

The site of their room brightened his mood a little. Five four-poster beds with green and silver hangings were set against the walls of the circular room, with their trunks sitting at the end of them. Everyone moved forward to see which beds they had been assigned. After a moment, Albus found himself opposite the door with Tavarias on his right and Scorpius on his left. Trying to be friendly, he gave Scorpius a smile, but the other boy looked quickly away.

Within minutes, everyone had donned their nightclothes and climbed into bed. Looking around at the two boys he didn't yet know, Albus said aloud, "We should introduce ourselves. I'm Albus Potter."

The boy to the right of the door gasped, his eyes as big as saucers. "_Potter?_" he cried. "Harry Potter is your father?"

Albus blushed. "Yeah, he is, but it's no big deal. He's just my dad."

"No big deal-!" the boy started again, but Tavarias interrupted him.

"Oh, lay off, Isaac," he said. "Leave the kid alone. Anyway," he continued, turning back to the others. "I'm Tavarias Smith. Nice to meet you all."

They nodded, then the first boy said, "As Tavarias just told you all, I'm Isaac Milard."

"Harold Bumstein," the boy on the other side of the door said, glaring when the others sniggered. "Hey, leave it along, all right? I didn't choose that name!" They stopped immediately.

The group turned to the small blonde boy next to Albus, who blushed. "Scorpius Malfoy," he mumbled, looking embarrassed.

"All right then," Tavarias announced. "I don't know about anybody else, but I'm going to bed." And he turned, blew out the candle beside his bed, and lay down. Three murmurs of assent followed as everyone but Albus followed suit.

The last boy blew out his candle and spread himself out on the bed, but knew he wouldn't be able to sleep. His mind was too full of questions. He wished he could talk to Rose and Laura, but they were all the way on the other side of the school right now, probably asleep in Ravenclaw Tower. He would have to try to catch them tomorrow.

Suddenly, a though occurred to Albus. There was someone else he could talk to! Why hadn't he thought of it before?

As silently as he could, Albus crawled to the end of his bed, took quill, ink, and parchment out of his trunk and slipped out the door and back into the common room. He sat down and began to pen a letter to his father.

_Author's Note:_ So I hope you enjoyed this. Was anyone surprised by the houses I chose for them? I sort of hope so – I didn't want it to be totally predictable. Also, what did you think of Albus's reaction to being placed in Slytherin? Too little, too much? I'm not sure if I got it right. Secondly, I know we saw the Slytherin common room in Chamber of Secrets, but I don't have a copy available to me right now. I'll probably fix things once I've checked it out. Chapter Three is in progress and should be up soon!


	3. Reasoning

_Author's Note:_ I know this chapter is short and probably boring and relatively pointless, but bear with me. I had to get it out. The next one will be better.

Chapter Three: Reasoning

Albus was wrong about his cousin and friend, for in reality they were no more asleep than he was. In fact, up in Ravenclaw Tower, the two girls were also sitting in their common room full of questions.

"I just can't believe that he's in Slytherin!" Rose cried for what must have been the tenth time in the last five minutes.

Laura rolled her eyes. "Can you stop saying that?"

"No!" Rose glared at her. "I'm just surprised. Well, you haven't been saying much. What do you think?"

Laura looked away and picked at a loose thread on the shoulder of her robes. "Oh, I don't know. I wouldn't go against the Sorting Hat, though. That thing's been sorting incoming students for hundreds of years. I'm pretty sure it knows who ought to go where.

Rose's eyes narrowed. "Are you saying," she asked slowly, "that Albus belongs in Slytherin?"

Laura shrugged.

"Laura," Rose pressed. "Do you really think Albus is that kind of person?"

The other girl turned back with a sigh. "Look, Rose, I'm just saying that I don't know Albus very well. You've been around him a lot more than me, but what if even you don't know him like you think you do? Maybe he really is a dirty, rotten Slytherin at heart."

Rose gaped at her. "Laura! I can't believe you. This is Albus we're talking about! I thought you were his friend! How can you say things like this about him?"

"Look, Rose, I'm just saying – "

"No! You listen to me, Laura. Albus is a _nice_ person. He's not like that. Listen to what I was trying to tell you on the train: Slytherin gets a bad rap because of all the dark wizards who have come out of there. That doesn't necessarily mean that Albus is going to be dark or that he's a bad person, does it?" she finished sounding uncertain.

"No, I guess you're right," Laura agreed reluctantly.

"After all," Rose added, "the main trait of a Slytherin is being ambitious, right? Determined, resolute, unwavering, that's Albus, don't you think?"

"Right!" Laura agreed firmly. "Just because Albus is in Slytherin doesn't mean that he's bad or that anyone else in there is."

"But anyway," Rose continued, "did you see his face when the Hat called it out? He was horrified! He looked like he was about to cry. I think he's really upset about it."

"Yeah, I saw him. We need to find him and talk to him tomorrow, if we get a chance."

"That sounds like a good idea," Rose agreed as she looked down at her watch. "Yikes – it's nearly eleven. We need to get to bed; we have to be to Potions by eight."

Being careful not to wake their fellows, the two girls crept into their dormitory, slipped on their nightgowns, and went to sleep.

The next morning Laura and Rose were at breakfast early hoping to catch Albus before class, but to no avail. The dark-haired boy came in late looking like he hadn't had much sleep, and the girls wanted to give him time to eat. After that, they were forced to put their worries about Albus aside until later. What with finding their way to their classrooms, trying to remember their new teacher's names, and doing first day homework, they didn't have time to think about anything else until dinner that night.

"I can't believe we have to find out the ingredients for an Engorgement Draught on our first day!" Laura complained as they sat at the Ravenclaw table eating.

"Oh, stop complaining," Rose said absently as she watched Albus silently pushing his food around his plate on the other side of the Great Hall. "It's easy. Professor Creevey practically told us nine out of ten of them."

"You've got to be kidding!" Laura cried. "When?"

"Throughout the lesson," Rose answered, still watching her cousin. She finally tore her gaze away and looked over at her friend. "Weren't you taking notes?"

"Crap," Laura said under her breath. "I knew there was something I forgot."

Rose started to laugh, but abruptly cut herself off. "Hey – Albus is leaving. Let's go talk to him."

"Right." Laura nodded, and the two stood and set off. It took some time to weave their way through seven years of fellow students, some eating, some chatting, and some visiting friends and acquaintances at other tables. Finally, though, they made it to the entrance hall, where they could just see the hem of Albus's robe disappearing around the edge of a door to the right of the stairs. They hurried after.

Upon opening the door, they saw the long, steep set of stone steps leading down to the dungeons. A cool breeze wafted up from below.

Laura hesitated. "I'm pretty sure the Slytherin common room is down there," she said. "We could get in trouble if we go any further."

Not too keen for that to happen, Rose called, "Albus!" No answer. She tried again, louder. "_Albus!_"

"It's no use," Laura informed her. "He's probably already gone inside. We wouldn't be able to catch him now anyway; we don't know the password. Come on, let's go back."

She turned to leave, but Rose grabbed her friend's arm, shaking her head. "I'm not giving up that easily," she said. "Come on." She set off down the stairs. Laura hesitated for another moment or two before heaving a loud sigh and following her.

When they reached the landing, the girls were confronted only by blank walls and a statue. "Oh, darn," Laura said as she turned back, "nowhere to go."

Rose once again grabbed her arm. "Not so fast, Longbottom." She turned and began to examine the statue. "This knight is guarding the door. If only we knew the password…"

"Which we don't," Laura reminded her.

"I know that!" Rose said irritably.

Suddenly, the door behind the statue opened and the stone figure jumped aside. Before they could see who was coming out, the girls were already halfway up the stairs, wanting anything but to be caught by a Head of House or prefect somewhere they weren't supposed to be on their first day at school.

"Wait!" a boy's voice called from behind.

Rose stopped short as they reemerged into the entrance hall. That sounded like –

"Albus!" Laura cried.

Rose spun around just in time to see her cousin come running out of the door behind them. He stopped, huffing as he tried to catch his breath. "What…were you guys…doing down there…?" he asked faintly.

"Trying to catch you," Laura answered. "We wanted to talk."

"About what?" Albus asked.

"Don't be silly," Rose said. "You know about what."

Albus rolled his eyes. "Right. You guys want to talk about me being in Slytherin."

Rose paused, startled by how little he seemed to care. "Um…yeah."

"Yeah?" Albus said, waiting for them to ask a direct question.

"So how do you feel about that?" Laura asked.

Albus sniggered. "What are you, a therapist?"

The girls glared at him. "Come _on_, Albus," Rose demanded. "We all know how upset you were last night. Obviously you've gotten over it." She planted her fists on her hips, annoyed that she had been so worried when he was obviously fine.

Her cousin shrugged. "I'm not really over it. It's still weird. I mean, Slytherin. Wow. I didn't think I ever get sorted into there, but what's done is done, right?" The other two nodded. "So I'm stuck with it. I would rather have been in Gryffindor, or Ravenclaw with you guys, or even Hufflepuff, but I'm all right, okay? Now, I've got to go. I'm writing a letter to my dad. Thanks."

As he turned to go, Laura pranced forward and threw her arms around him. "I'm glad you're okay, Albus!" she said as she stepped back again.

Rose and Albus both gave her strange looks. "Um…see you," Albus said as he disappeared behind the door.

"What was that?" Rose asked her friend when he was gone.

Laura shrugged. "I dunno." She turned and began to walk away. "Let's head up to the common room and get to work on Professor Creevey's homework."

"Right…" Rose agreed as she ran to catch up.

_Author's Note:_ So, Chapter Four up soon. Also, if you were wondering, the potions master is Dennis Creevey, not Colin. So sad about him…


End file.
